Incumbent Councilman E. Romeo Longo Seeking Re-Election

Cedar Grove Councilman E. Romeo Longo is running for the unexpired two-year seat on the governing body left vacant by former Councilman Patrick DeFrancisci, who resigned late last year. If re-elected, it will be Longo's fifth term on the Council since he was first elected in 1995.

Longo detailed his platform in an interview this week.

I've always worked well with the sitting council and always have done what I thought was best for the people of Cedar Grove. Some accomplishments the council has achieved in my time have included maintaining a lean budget, which we've always scrutinized very well and will continue to do so.

The Hilltop has been an issue that's been around for 10 years. I've been actively involved since it first came to light in the late 1990s. I will continue to fight to keep Hilltop as park land.

My concern is that Hovnanian was talking of building anywhere from 464-1,000 units. Even at the low end of the estimate, that's nearly 1,000 cars assuming two cars per household. Another concern is what impact will it have on municipal services? Even using the low number that's going to be a lot of people. What will the impact be on schools? Will we need more teachers? Will we need more classroom space?

As for the biggest issues facing the township, maintaining the 2 percent budget cap, which we've done this year, is something I'm proud of. I think we have to look at every line item of the budget each year, because what might be a savings this year might not the next year. We've been active with cooperative buying agreements with the county; one year it was cheaper to buy rock salt from the county, the following year it wasn't. It was worthwhile to go out on our own and we bought it cheaper. My point is, you have to look at every line item and see how it stands alone.

Previously I was a tax assessor for Verona, Fairfield and Little Falls. During that time, each year the municipalities saw an increase in their ratable base. I think that experience only helps me in my position as a Councilman. I'm looking at the budget from a municipal employee perspective as well as a councilman's perspective. I think that's a benefit to Cedar Grove.

I understand the importance of maintaining a ratable base and keeping a lid on tax appeals. When there's a successful tax appeal, we have to pay the school portion and don't get any money back from the Board of Education when we make those adjustments. The County does not give us any credits, so that's why it's important to defend any tax appeals against us because it costs us more money in the long run.

I think we're at a critical point with the limitations we have on our budget, and I think the Cedar Grove Council needs somebody who has extensive municipal experience, and that's me. With my 15 years experience, I can appreciate the problems the town has such as the growing health and pension costs. These aren't something new to me, this is something I've been living with for years and I've worked hard to maintain escalating costs, all for the betterment of Cedar Grove.